Current Thoughts on how rules are Interpreted
These are personal thoughts, things and issues i have come across after reading many topics on the boards. I hope to make a objective 3 point argument about how the rules seem to be to subjective and up for debate. This can lead to many unsatisfied players who feel as if they have been cheated. Before i begin laying out my argument I will acknowledge that this is Riot's game, and that means we must follow their rules. Despite how you feel about them, you must respect them and follow them. This being their game also means this argument can easily be pushed to the wayside by simply saying "That is against the rules, therefore you can be punished". So without further description of this argument let us begin.
1) Interpretation of the rules--> The more I read the boards the more issues i see with interpretation of the rules. After reading the summoners code i do see some logical issues. In rule 7 of the_ Summoners Code_ it states that "Every person that we encounter is going to carry a different set of circumstances with them into the game, and therefore is going to have a different level of tolerance for frustration." I understand it just one sentence out of the paragraph, and i do not mean to pick apart this rule and take it out of context. But this issue here is that the rule acknowledges that people are different and unique which means people will see things differently. This is a big subjective issue, and means it is open for interpretation and can be taken differently by different people. In rule 6 of the Summoners Code_ it states "While it's alright to celebrate, make sure that you keep any gloating (or any other mode of self-indulgence) out of all chat. " An example of why this rule is to subjective is because people are Different. People say "gg" at the end of every game, many people will say it several times. This rule allows me to interpret that as offensive, or gloating in all chat. which is against the summoners code and therefore a reportable offense. Same with people saying "gg ez" which some people will interpret as gloating and be overly sensitive. The rules state there is competition in this game, which means when you win you should logically be aloud to acknowledge that you won, and they lost. But this would be gloating or can be interpreted as gloating and therefore is against the summoners code. This leads into my second point.
2) Punishable--> I have seen this a lot by the community and by riot lately. Is it punishable? Well, after reading the Summoners Code, and it being subjective to each person including those who judge the players, practically anything can be considered punishable. You have a troll on your team that does nothing but create havoc on your team, doesn't fulfill their role and chooses an assassin as your support? If you call him out politely it can be taken as sarcastic, punishable. If you call him out in all chat it can "make him feel bad" and therefore make him play worse, punishable. You ask him to please help out more or he could get reported, punishable for him feeling threatened from you saying you may report him. My point here is that anything can be punishable, the rules seem to favor the sensitive, faint of heart, or thin skinned players. Since the players are human and subjective, so are the humans working for riot who determine who is punished. This again is subjective interpretation. What is that employee thinking? How are they interpreting the summoners code? Do they find cuss words to demeaning to a players potential in a game? What is truly gloating to them? What is a truly punishable offense to them even though they are supposed to follow a code, which can be interpreted differently? I am not saying this system is full of flaws and should be replaced, but i do think it has its issues and is too open to debate between players of what is** right and what is wrong. In rule 7 of the summoners code it says, _"Try not to take it personally. Everyone has a breaking point and everyone rages sometimes."**_ Everyone is different, some people will rage more than others, yet that doesn't seem to be taken into account. Everyone is held to the same standard, which generally is a good route. But if you acknowledge people are different, and that some rage more often than others, it doesn't line up logically to judge them all the same because you stated people are all different. Play for 3 years, have a rough week and vent to people on the rift during the week, punishable. In rule 7 of the summoners code it also says,_ "If someone's really starting to bother you, the mute and ignore commands are always there to resolve the situation."_ So if you are in a game with players who come off as abusive or crude, you mute and ignore them you are no longer being open minded or supporting your team. By muting them you are no longer keeping an open line of communication which can be punishable because it can ruin the other players experience.
3) Cop Out--> I have come across this a lot, and this is one issue i feel a lot of players feel cheated because of. I If someone's really starting to bother you, the mute and ignore commands are always there to resolve the situation seen people troll, start arguments, feed, AFK, and all the things that make a game on the rift painful. I have noticed that more people get in trouble for responding to the person ruining their game experience. To which the community will simply tell you to grow up, mute the player and move on. This is an easy cop out to avoid interpretation of the rules or allow a player to defend themselves. If a player responds to the troll, they are retaliating and therefore have made a punishable offense. But the troll is where the problem began, and is enjoying the trouble they are causing for said player, therefore ruining the players game at their expense. This would be breaking rule 4 of the Summoners Code. So when the situation is viewed, the player is chat restricted because they talked back to a troll they feel cheated. This is because the troll had fun at their expense yet they got in trouble. In rule 7 of the summoners code it says, "Try not to take it personally. Everyone has a breaking point and everyone rages sometimes." Everyone is different, some people will rage more than others, yet that doesn't seem to be taken into account. Everyone is held to the same standard, which generally is a good route. But if you acknowledge people are different, and that some rage more often than others, it doesn't line up logically to judge them all the same because you stated people are all different. I see people asking questions about their chat restrictions, or bans. One player even stated he played 250 ranked games and trolled them all without getting restricted or banned. Then another person started talking about sample sizes, and how the system cannot catch them all. I do understand there are many people playing this game, but it is an easy cop out to bring in math to discredit their argument by using the straw man fallacy.
To conclude I must say this argument is flawed, but is just from observation. I play often, and see trolls in likely half of my games. People do crazy things, people rage, people cuss every game, people degrade each other in the name of competition. There are very, very few games I have been in (Usually the mind-numbingly boring games where neither team says a word) where people don't argue, degrade each other or gloat when they win. Do i personally think gloating should be a punishable offense? No, In the States as many people know. sports and competition have been diminished, you get a trophy for simply playing instead of for winning. What is the point of winning if you cannot relish in the win? I understand being an abysmal winner, and a sore loser. But why is being a sore loser wrong? By telling people to not be upset when they lose, makes them think losing isn't a bad thing and makes them into a loser. When losing by nature makes us mad because we did not win, we did not succeed, we failed and we get mad. Where there is competition there will be emotion, it goes hand in hand. with competition comes winning and losing, triumph and failure, yet if you say you won the battle, you will lose the war by being reported. if you get upset and lose the battle, you will still lose the war and get reported. This has been an interesting chance to share my knowledge and observation for the community. I thank everyone who reads, and hope you get something out of it. Feel free to discuss and lapse in logic or issues with my observation. I am not trying to discredit anything riot has done, they have a great game, and while the rules are vague, they work.
